May is my birthday month! On top of that, the end of May also marks the conclusion of another stressful and exhausting semester at the university where I teach. These coinciding factors called for a celebratory dinner. I deserved to be indulged with some extra fine dining; cost be damned. In fact, I deliberately chose what I assumed would be the most expensive cuisine possible: French cuisine. I wanted to experience the luxury of blowing hundreds of dollars on a single meal. I got my wish—but, whether the evening was worth what I shelled out is… debatable.
The fact that Perle isn’t just any old French restaurant, but a Michelin-recommended one at that, was a good indication that I would not be disappointed in my determination to spend lots of $$$ there. The restaurant interior is cute and intimate; because of the size, the place is more accurately described, as indeed it is on the Michelin website, as a “quaint French bistro.” Think small mahogany tables, ornate (but not overly so) lighting and decorations, a miniature bar area, and… two all-gender restrooms. As in, for ALL the customers and staff. In the pre-COVID-19 era, that might have sufficed, but now, since Pasadena is apparently allowing restaurants to continue offering on-street dining, the maximum number of patrons on any given evening at Perle has doubled, while the maximum number of restrooms has remained the same. Seems to me to be a recipe for disaster. Surprisingly, though, I didn’t personally encounter any undue difficulties when using the facilities. Still, I can easily imagine a long line forming outside the restrooms during peak hours. Overall, its modest dimensions and very modest number of lavatories seem more congruent with a much more modestly priced establishment than this.
If, however, there is one aspect that makes Perle worthy of the prices it charges, it’s the service. Both the host who greeted me at the entrance and our server, Odin, who was impeccably affable and attentive, were excellent at what they do and definitely belong in an upscale establishment. Though I had neglected to make any special seating requests when making my reservation, when I arrived at the restaurant, I realized that there were tables with cushioned chairs, but also, tables where one party at least could sit on a comfy-looking cushioned bench. I was initially led by the host to the former kind, but when I requested one of the benches instead, they accommodated me right away, even without me pulling out any x-rays showing my tailbone deformity. Just kidding! I don’t really carry radiographs around in my purse. Or do I…?
